


Keep Your Shirt On

by Lilzy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Because I have no idea where this is going right now, Bets & Wagers, But I have a slight idea, Gen, I hope this hasn't been done already, Involves him and his inability to control his shirt stripping, It's Dumb, It's going to probably be 3 parts, My friend and I came up with the idea awhile and it's been on my list of fics to write, Silly, So yeah, Tanaka-centric fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-25 09:03:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6188434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilzy/pseuds/Lilzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stupid bets are what keeps Karasuno VBC interesting in it's most mundane of days.</p><p>OR</p><p>Tanaka thinks that his habit isn't a big deal, but boy is he wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Bet

**Author's Note:**

> Because there isn't enough fanfiction about Tanaka.

The volleyball slamming on to the ground and rebounding upwards on the other side of the net was a beautiful sound to behold. The sting remaining on his hands from the spike felt even better.

Hollering and high-fiving Hinata, Tanaka smiled widely in triumph, ready for his successful spike ritual. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled the thing off, exposing his tanned torso. 

After waving the shirt around above his head in a circle for a few seconds, Tanaka noticed snickering coming from the sidelines. It was mostly bursting out of a tall, blond first year. 

Tanaka strode towards Tsukishima, who was hiding his laughing behind a hand. It would have been a good cover, but anyone could see the mischievous flickering of light in his eyes behind those glasses.

“What is it you little punk?!” the loud spiker shouted as he sauntered over. He made to roll up his sleeves, but there was no shirt. The item had fallen to the wood paneling of the court quite a bit ago. 

Panicking to keep his tough demeanor, Tanaka quickly decided to cross his arms and lean the side of his head towards the first year. He squinted one eye and popped the other at Tsukishima, attempting to frighten him.

Like always, this act did nothing to bother the megane. He just smirked in retaliation.

“Nothing. Yamaguchi and I just made a bet to see how long you could go without taking off your shirt” Tsukishima sneered. 

Tanaka raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“… So how long did I last?” Tanaka questioned, curious. He surmised it must have been awhile since he had taken off his shirt like this. He couldn’t remember when it happened last.

“We made the bet at the start of practice. That was about 5 minutes ago,” Yamaguchi explained, trying to hide a chuckle. He was unsuccessful. Tanaka took the whole situation as a challenge.

“Well you had just made it! It was just happened to be the wrong day to start your bet” he reasoned firmly. He glanced up at Tsukishima, waiting for the blonde to speak. He was swiftly answered.

“We've made this same bet everyday these past two weeks of practice and you’ve done it everyday within the first hour” Tsukishima deadpans. 

Of course after two seconds of seeing his senpai's surprised reaction, the first year snorted, amused. Yamaguchi joined him, softly cackling along to balance out how silent Tanaka was.

The silence is quickly over as the bald spiker growls and yells that he can go a whole day without removing his shirt. He radiates confidence, until he sees Suga and Daichi grimacing and shaking their heads like they can’t believe their ears.

Noya and Ashai stay silent, although Noya's lips are slightly curled upwards. Meanwhile, Hinata and Kageyama are amazed at their senpai's coolness and confidence. Hinata's eyes are especially bright with wonder.

Suga, always the gentle voice of reason, clears his throat and speaks. “Tanaka, even you know that you can’t go a whole day without taking off your shirt and waving it around like that,” Suga says calmly. At that remark, the second year glances up at his vice captain in shock. 

“Yes I can!” he argues, his hands resting on his hips. Tanaka straightens his back, nose pointed high in the air. “I’ll prove it to that first year bastard” he retorts. 

Afterwards, he glances over at Tsukishima, ready to challenge him. Too bad the first year is already in a corner discussing the terms of the bet with the rest of the team while transactions were made. 

After a few minutes, Noya walks up to Tanaka and smiles mischievously up at him. The libero turned on his heel, facing away and announced “The bets are in. It starts tomorrow at morning practice. Don’t fail me, Ryuu.”

Tanaka just stands there and nods silently, flaring his nostrils for battle. He will win.

Muttering gradually picked up at the announcement, but stopped abruptly. Daichi had heard enough and was fuming. 

“Back to practice!” he ordered. Everyone was quick to comply, running to their spots to practice.

Practice was a blur for the loud second year. For the entirety of it, he held back his spikes and did not strip once. He thought holding back now would prepare him for tomorrow, when he had to do so. Of course, suppressing his spiking was quite noticeable to the rest of his teammates. They gave Tanaka questioning looks when he would hold back his spiking power. But when he still would smile after the ball would hit the opposite side, they were relieved. 

“He’s just focused on tomorrow” Suga reasoned as Daichi nodded, calling the end of practice.

After changing and meeting up with the others, Tanaka headed home. Although he joked along with his teammates, tomorrow's challenge was the only thing on his mind.


	2. The Toss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tanaka was already so done with today and it was only 5am.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Tanaka lose the bet? Psh, I don't even know.

The next morning was bright when Tanaka left his house to walk to school. He was not alone though; he was with the people who woke him up, his so-called ‘friends’.

He had received a phone call at 5am, a loud voice on the other end of the call. Tanaka could also pick up some worried squeaks that sounded like “Noya shhh, he’ll be mad if you’re too loud!”

“RYUU WAKE UP. WE’RE OUTSIDE WAITING FOR YOU!” the short libero bellowed at full volume, causing Tanaka to distance the phone away so his ear wouldn’t bleed. The rambling continued, as he yawned and flipped the cell phone closed. He heard an obnoxious roar outside not a moment later.

“HE HUNG UP ON ME!” Noya cried, banging on the front door. “RYUU, FIGHT ME.”

Tanaka rolled his eyes and roared “Noya, calm down. I’ll be out in a minute, dammit.”

When there was only silence from outside his home, the bald second year quickly changed into his school uniform, grabbed a banana (for breakfast), and his bag. He barged through the door, surprised at the welcome party being bigger than he had thought. In front of him stood Asahi and Ennoshita, while Noya was still hanging off the door like an animal.

“Hello, Tanaka, we were appointed to be your welcoming committee and the referees of today’s bet,” Ennoshita explained calmly. He looked up, waiting for some kind of response.

Tanaka eyes them all, knowing well that the terms of the bet were that he wouldn’t be under watch until later this morning. He sighs dramatically and starts to stalk off, his ‘friends’ following him from behind. Today was going to be _great_.

After hearing Asahi blabber on continuously about how sorry they were for waking him up like that, they finally made it Karasuno. By then Tanaka is fully awake and aware that one little slip up could cause him to be the talk of the club for weeks, and definitely not in a good way. The teasing would be relentless, especially from those two first year troublemakers– and not the two idiots you’d think of first.

Speaking of the devils, Tanaka was greeted with the blond bastard and his snickering friend at the door of the gym. _Great_

“What are you doing here, first year? Coming early is for people who care,” Tanaka threatened, baring his teeth in a growl.

“Just here early to watch the show,” Tsukishima smiled.

“Good one, Tsuki,” Yamaguchi quickly joined in and chuckled.

Tanaka just pushed his way through to the clubroom to change along with the others after Asahi unlocked the door. Hinata and Kageyama had been waiting, obviously avoiding the other two first years.

“I’ve been here since 4:45!” Hinata exclaimed wildly. The boy next to him promptly hit him on the head.

“No, you’ve been here since 4:46, I got here at 4:45!” Kageyama boasted proudly. He looked down at Hinata and gave his signature creepy smile. The defeated look Hinata had only solidified what the outcome of their race this morning was.

Tanaka smiled and petted Hinata’s hair, fluffing it. “Don’t worry, kohai, your senpai will win for you, today. Just watch.”

The duo blushed in amazement at their senpai’s cool attitude. “TANAKA SENPAI” they both exclaimed as Tanaka slapped their backs, laughing. He already felt better about today.

He went over to his locker and started to change as Noya went up to Kageyama and Hinata. “Call me senpai, too!” the libero commanded.

The pair looked at each other and cheered “NOYA SENPAI” loudly, overwhelming the guardian deity, who quickly promised meat buns after evening practice.

Tanaka shook his head at what he heard behind him as he removed his school uniform shirt. Then he realized that this was the only moment where taking it off would be fine for the next couple of hours. The spiker was just about to put the shirt back on so he could take it off and spin it above his head, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He almost jumped in surprised as a voice whispered “Ryuu, I know what you’re up to. Technically doing this is equivalent to forfeiting the bet.” Tanaka didn’t dare make eye contact with anyone after that, even when Ennoshita and Asahi walked in from unlocking the gym. He finished changing, did not do the forbidden thing, and strode towards the gym. Noya was behind, screaming about how he was not allowed to be without a bet referee for even one minute today.

Today was definitely going to suck.

Tanaka walked into the gym with Noya in tow. Fortunately, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were not in there yet, so he had time to actually enjoy himself before the official start of practice. The spiker and libero started to practice receiving, waiting for the others to arrive.

A few minutes later, Asahi and Ennoshita walked in with Kageyama and Hinata. They joined them with working on receives, the tall first year yelling at the smaller for every receive he missed, which was about half of them. Asahi and Ennoshita broke off to do spikes, Noya joining them so he could receive every spike they hit.

Tanaka, realizing he was alone, was a little ticked that the club members there had grouped up without him. But after continuously receiving a volleyball against the wall, he discerned that they were doing this to keep him from getting too excited and losing the bet. He internally thanked them and ignored the next pair that entered the gym.

Tsukishima instantly noticed how Tanaka was alone practicing and smirked. Setting down his water bottle, he approached the bald spiker from behind. “Can we join you, Tanaka-san?” he asked, innocently. Or so he thought. The question was actually saturated with a mocking air to it and it didn’t fool his senpai. Yamaguchi just stood behind both of them, waiting out the hostile environment until it was a bit calmer.

“Yeah, sure, whatever” Tanaka mumbled as he caught the ball that deflected back off the wall. “We can practice receives,” he suggested, trying his hardest to be a good senpai. The blond first year was obviously making it hard, offering that they could practice spiking instead. That bastard.

Tanaka was persistent and finally was able to force the two first years to practice receiving. Of course, his kohai were terrible at it, only getting about maybe half of the ones perfectly over the net within the boundary lines. Although he dominated when it came to receiving, Tsukishima still riled him up on many occasions. Tanaka wasn’t very astute, but he knew what the blond was trying to achieve with all of these antics. That tall know-it-all wanted him to snap and swing off his shirt in rage. Sure, Tanaka knew that’d make him feel better, but the first year would give him an even harder time if he did.

Just as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were convincing Tanaka to practice spiking, two saviors walked in: Daichi and Suga. The bald spiker whisked away from the troublemakers and bounded over to the angels that must have came from heaven. He had been so close to giving in to the first year pair. Although spiking wouldn’t automatically set off his stripping tendencies, he still didn’t want those two to influence him in any way. Especially not today.

Tanaka looked so eager that Daichi assumed it was time for morning practice to officially start. Daichi shouted to make sure they properly stretched before doing so himself. Afterwards they practiced spiking, Suga and Kageyama setting to each person in line dozens of times over. Tanaka was able to control himself by choosing to get in the line for Suga’s tosses. He felt calmer with the third year and he figured that Suga might be able to stop him before he technically would break the bet.

Within minutes, he found that his choice was correct. He felt the urge, but Suga grabbed the water bottle on the floor next to him and squirted half of its contents at the spiker. Tanaka yelped in surprise and shivered, but thanked the setter over and over. Tanaka had to admit that was definitely an unorthodox way for Suga to distract him, but it worked nonetheless.

Next Daichi wanted them to work with receives, which the bald spiker found to be easier. He was put with Ennoshita, who conversed with him as they hit the ball back and forth. Receiving was routine, a second nature to him. Although he felt great getting in a good hit, it felt nothing like spiking. It was safe, although not so exciting. But for once, he was grateful that it wasn’t the most amazing feeling ever. That might have put him over the edge.

Later, the team broke up into two groups to play a small match. The second year prayed that he would not be with any troublemakers. He thought himself as more than enough trouble as it was. Tanaka was not so lucky. He was put with people he thought would keep him in check, except for Tsukishima. At first, the situation wasn’t too terrible because he kept his distance. But the bastard kept egging him on, calling for Suga to give Tanaka as many tosses as possible. And the co-captain, being the nice guy he is, obliged all too easily. Many tosses glided over towards the second year as he kept his focus on just hitting the ball and ignoring how it landed.

Unfortunately within the first set, a beautiful toss made its way over to the second year. It was definitely the best one yet. He felt power surge through his veins as he pounced upwards and slammed the ball against his palm. It landed with a heavy thud on the other side of the net. _Oh no. This feeling._ It was what he felt every time a connection worked really well. It almost always made him want to swing his upper garment around in victory. _Crap. Dammit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect part 3 soon.


	3. The Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will happen? The ending of this stupid trilogy is finally here for your amusement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I was struggling to figure out how it would end, but after blabbing to my friend, I figured it out so yeah.

That spike was perfect. Everyone on the opposite side of the net looked towards Tanaka, waiting expectantly. Noya stared up at him from where he had dived onto the floor to try and receive the ball. The freak duo was wide eyed with amazement; Hinata’s face was pink while Kageyama formed an O with his mouth. “WOAH, TANAKA-SAN” the red head exclaimed, jumping up and down. 

At his cheer, the rest of the team shook their heads and peered away from Tanaka. All except Tsukishima appeared ashamed by their staring. The blond was disappointed, but he masked that with a smirk. There was still time.

Tanaka had been so amazed at the spike and distracted by the first year’s buoyancy that he had calmed down completely and just grinned. He felt palms slap his back repeatedly and proud compliments fill his ears. His smile wobbled in utter joy. He could do this. 

Practice ended on a bittersweet note; his team had lost, but he did not mess up once. The second year hurried to go change, Asahi on his heels to mediate. Tanaka quickly changed while avoiding jerking his arms around too much so no one would think he was swinging his clothes in victory or anything. He chatted with Noya as they moseyed slowly towards their classroom. With every turn to the next hallway, Tanaka felt someone watch him. He caught a flash of yellow before it disappeared into the shadows. Really? That spectacled bastard was following him. Yamaguchi was probably with him, snickering, judging. No longer listening to the libero sauntering along next to him, Tanaka huffed and quickened their pace. Finally, the two second years reached their classroom. Tanaka sped inside and all but barreled into his seat.  


Class started and Tanaka already felt sleep pulling at his eyes. His neck let his head droop slowly as a soft snore escaped from his pursed lips. He could hear a faint murmur from the teacher leading a discussion on a novel they had been reading. Tanaka tried to listen, but it was too late. His face slammed onto the desk loudly, a contrast to his quiet breathing. 

Somehow there was too much going on in the room that he went unnoticed, especially for his friend sitting next to him who had long been sleeping. When that class had ended they were thoroughly scolded, but Tanaka just ignored everything the teacher had said and meandered back to his seat.  


Noya ended up giving him a lecture too about how he wasn’t allowed to sleep because that would be against the bet. Apparently being unconscious was not fair; if he wasn’t awake he was avoiding suffering through the allotted time of the bet. Tanaka grumbled and then smiled devilishly, leering at his friend. “Weren’t you supposed to be watching me, instead of napping?” the spiker smirked. Noya’s face reddened, realizing he was wrong but not admitting it.  


The rest of the day went by quickly after that. When the bell rang around noon, they headed down to the lunch hall. They make light conversation while the taller of the two tried to keep his mind off of everything except for food. That should be quite easy. He smells it before he sees it. Meat. Glorious meat. Of course it didn’t compare to the barbeque they had at training camp, but it’ll do just fine. He and Noya skip to the line to buy their meals and quickly make it to their table to feast. Some of his teammates join them minutes later and chow down too.

Asahi stutters, asking about how he’s feeling, but Tanaka only catches about half of it and just stares at each of them, one by one. Daichi, Suga, Asahi, Noya, and Ennoshita look at him expectantly for answers. Instead, he just looks down at his empty plate. Dammit, he should have eaten slower so he could be occupied right now. Now he would hear their concern and he wanted none of it. But the poor baldy was unlucky as always today and the discussion was happening. 

“Don’t worry about it, Tanaka. The day is more than halfway over. Practice will be really easy, I promise,” Daichi reassures the spiker. He nods slowly at his captain’s words, although he knows it won’t be that easy if Tsukishima has anything to say about it. Speaking of which. Tanaka looks up, as the rest of them are silent, Asahi trying to find words because he’s going to speak next. After eyeing the entire lunchroom, Tanaka finally sees the blond with Yamaguchi. Tsukishima looks up from Yamaguchi’s face and stares in the second year’s direction. The leering smile the middle blocker gives riles Tanaka up just as Asahi speaks. 

“You should not be nervous about this,” Asahi squeaks, obviously nervous himself. Tanaka turns his eyes back at Asahi, glaring fiercely in reaction to what had just occurred from across the large room. The tallest third year looks even shakier now that Tanaka appears to be on edge. Noya clears his throat and stares at his friend hard.  


“Ryuu, don’t be like that towards him,” the libero threatens. Then his slight frown curves into a smile and says, “Just keep having fun and do what you’ve been doing!” The libero punches him hard and grins at Asahi, who smiles back at him. Tanaka softly apologizes and the third year waves his hands at him, signifying that Tanaka did not need to be worried; he was fine now. After a few moments of silence Ennoshita shifts in his seat and crosses his arms. “You’re way better at focusing on anything else except schoolwork, so this should be easy for you. And if you don’t win, there will probably be a penalty one way or another,” Ennoshita explains firmly.  


Suddenly, everything is dark. When Tanaka regains his sight moments later there are still black dots blotting his vision, keeping him from seeing completely clear. He can’t believe what he just heard. But he shouldn’t be surprised, although that’s all his face was displaying. Ennoshita was always blunt, even with joking; it always kept Tanaka in check. Of course, Tanaka thinks he almost died just now from his teammate’s half serious half joking statement. But in a way, it makes him realize that if he doesn’t make it through today, there will be all sorts of mocking attitudes or punishments thrown his way. 

Suga is the last to speak. Tanaka turns to him, waiting. The setter just smirks. “Don’t let that first year get the best of you. I bet 2000 yen on you and I’m not going to let you lose this you big moron,” Suga explains quickly. Tanaka eyes widen in revelation. Suga didn’t splash him with water to calm him earlier because he cared about him, but because he had money on this? What?! 

Tanaka felt flattered that Suga would be on his side, but also felt wronged that Suga cared mostly because there was money at stake. Noticing Tanaka’s pained expression Suga cleared his throat. “Don’t get me wrong,” Suga smiled. “I do care about you and that’s why I bet on you. I know you can do this.”

Shockingly enough, the second year felt so much better. Tanaka radiated confidence and he very much felt like rubbing it in to the tall middle blocker and pinch server. The spiker glanced around but the troublesome pair was nowhere to be seen. Before Tanaka could finish searching for them, the bell rang.

Noya and Tanaka wandered back to class after they said farewell to their teammates. Again, the rest of the day went by very quickly. It was a blur for the bald spiker, especially when the boring math lessons had started. By the time they got to parabolas, Tanaka was out cold. Later, him and Noya were woken up a classmate when they were moving on to the next subject. The two fought to stay awake for the rest of the day. 

Freedom. It felt good. The rushing wind and the smell of sweat as he and Noya sprinted down the hallways towards the gym. The two climbed the stairs to the clubroom, rushed to change and practically fell over each other to get onto the court. The two people inside were, of freaking course, the last two club members that they wanted to see. Tsukishima turned towards the duo and coolly gazed at them, before his lips formed into a nastily smug grin. There was almost no hesitation in the way the tall middle blocker made his way over to Tanaka evenly, Yamaguchi not far behind him.

“Time to end this whole ordeal. It’s about time you caved in,” Tsukishima cackled. Tanaka pulled up his sleeves and trudged his way closer, but only moved half the distance than he had planned. Tanaka felt the libero’s tight grip on the back of his shirt in an attempt to restrain him. But he surged forwards and stabbed into Tsukishima’s chest with his finger while popping out his eyes in anger. 

“TRY ME” Tanaka roared, revealing his jagged teeth like an animal. He took another lurch forward.

Tsukishima only deepened his pompous smirk and said “You’re too easy to rile up, even more so than that shrimp. Well, at least he’s been pulling his weight today while you’ve been holding back… He will surpass you soon, Tanaka-san, aren’t you worried?” The middle blocker’s mouth widened while he chuckled.

Something in him cracked. Tanaka appeared more pissed off than his teammates had ever seen him recently. The spiker was seething with rage, his breathing ragged. His face was scrunched up as if contemplating a serious life or death situation. He chose death… of the blond jerk in front of him.

From the door, Sugawara and Daichi walked in and immediately they froze. Oh no, Tanaka was having a complete melt down. Not again. Suga wasn’t going to lose this bet and Tanaka was going to pull through this whole stupid thing. Also, no one would die today. Quickly, Suga called for someone to get Kiyoko-san before Tanaka could murder Tsukishima. That someone was Hinata, who had just walked towards them as Suga shouted to find Shimizu-san. Seeing the red head run off, Kageyama ran after him in what he assumed was a race. Meanwhile, Ennoshita and Noya attempted to push Tanaka away from the blond who kept throwing out insults continuously. He was so close to losing it. 

“Shimizu-san!” Hinata called as they ran up to the clubroom. She wasn’t there. Out of breath, the middle blocker made his way back down and spotted her talking to the vice principal. Oh no. Kageyama and Hinata already had a ban run-in with the vice principal once and they wouldn’t do it again. They backed up in fear, but at the sound of struggled feet, Shimizu turned around towards them. She noticed how the first years looked worried and knew instantly that something was up. She quickly bowed to the vice principal and approached the duo. 

Blushing, Hinata struggled to speak; his words were rapid and incoherent. Kageyama didn’t even know why they were looking for her so he just said “practice is starting, Shimizu-san.” She looks over at Hinata, then back to Kageyama and nods. The three dashed to the gym where crap was going down. When they walk in, they see a pissed off Tanaka being held back by his fellow second years who are red in the face from expelling too much energy within minutes. Even though he was restrained from moving forward, the bald spiker kept shouting at Tsukishima. The blond was chuckling only a few feet in front of him, amused by the whole spectacle.

Daichi, Suga, and Asahi notice the arrival of Kiyoko and look at her with pleading eyes. Throughout the silent third year exchange, Tanaka grabbed at his shirt, trying to pull it over his head so he can properly fight the blond bastard. Inspecting the scene and understanding the tense situation, Kiyoko sighs softly and steps forwards. Just as Tanaka’s shirt makes it about half way up, blushing furiously, she cries “Tanaka, you look good with a banana!” 

The second year stops abruptly and whips his head around to look at the manager. W-what did she say? In the seconds it takes to process this, Shimizu freezes for a moment, bows, and then dashes out of the gym in embarrassment. It was the first thing she thought of after seeing Tanaka eating a banana in between matches not too long ago! It was the one and only compliment she had given Tanaka out loud for him alone, ever. Oh God, this was terrible. 

Tanaka seemed to have shut down completely. His legs wobbled, causing him to fall to his knees. You could almost see his spirit leave his body and rise up to the ceiling. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes while his mouth struggled to form a complete sentence, except for a soft “Kiyoko-san… S-she complimented me.” He fell over backwards as Noya and Ennoshita let go of him to catch their breaths. The rest of Karasuno Volleyball Club just stared silently into space, obviously confused, while Tsukishima’s laughing echoed loudly throughout the entire gym. He never had laughed so much in his entire life and not one person was alive enough to hear it. Tsukishima lost the bet, but what just happened was even more amusing to him than winning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And if Tsukishima was lucky, everyone would be too distracted by the scene to remember there was money involved.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this stupid story. It was fun to write.


End file.
